DreamWalker
by Iris RainbowWolf
Summary: The only reason why I came home to Forks Washington, was to help my cousin out of her post-breakup funk. But the moment I stepped foot in my childhood hometown, strange things started to happen. Could it be that there was more to the world than what meets the eye? Jacob/OC
1. Chapter 1

Savanna Sky Higginbotham remembered the day she died. She remembered feeling the numbness spread from her heart through her veins before it claimed her life. A heart attack. And then she woke up from that terrible nightmare with a warmth that wasn't there before. That following morning, Savanna's mother Sherie got the call that her ex-husband had passed away.

Savanna's father had died from a heart attack. She was fourteen.

Over the course of the next few months, Savanna had met so many new people from her fathers' side of the family. Her great-grandparents had even given her journals and stone jewelry, but the fourteen-year-old didn't pay the books any mind. She did wear the jewelry, however. She had a weakness for all things tribal, being half-Navajo herself.

Not until she started dreaming of people she had never met. Of a young boy around the same age as her exploding out of his skin, leaving a rust-colored wolf in his wake. Of an extremely pale boy who seemed to shine in the sun. Of large, horse-sized wolves ripping and tearing into ice-like flesh.

But she kept the dreams to herself. Sure they were crazy, but they were still just dreams. People didn't turn into wolves. Savanna knew that if she had told her mother, she would have just waved the fourteen-year-old girl off.

Savanna didn't even tell her best friend and cousin, Bella Swan, about the dreams. And after a while of ignoring them, they went away and Savanna went on with her life.

* * *

After my Dad died, my Mom decided to move us from California to New Hampshire. The wooded area where we lived reminded me of a place I had been to as a little kid. Before the divorce, my aunt Renee lived in a small town in Washington called Forks. And after the divorce, we still would visit, Mom was still good friends with my Uncle Charlie.

The only difference between Forks and Tamworth? Tamworth didn't rain nearly as much. Well, that and Tamworth wasn't as... _remote_ as Forks. Both were home to me, though. In that aspect, Forks and Tamworth were one and the same.

And now, thanks to my cousin, I was going back to Forks with no promise of returning to the east coast.

Bella had moved to Forks to live with her father, my uncle Charlie, a few months ago. Where she had fallen in love with a boy named Edward. And then the jerk left my accident-prone cousin in the middle of the woods on her eighteenth birthday. She had gone almost catatonic after that. A few weeks had gone by and Uncle Charlie had had enough, so he called me and mom. And of course, I volunteered to fly out to try and help my favorite cousin. Mom couldn't leave, she had too much going on at work. But I could.

Sure I still had school, but I could easily transfer to Forks high. Right now, my cousin needed me. And it wasn't like I had friends in Tamworth anyway. Just girls I sat with at lunch, and they were bitches.

"You almost ready, sweetie?" Mom asked as she tied her rust-colored hair up into a messy bun. This was the first day off she's had in a while, and she was spending it taking me to the airport.

"Just about, Mom," I told her as I zipped up my suitcase. I was bringing almost all of my fall and winter clothes. Sure it was January, and spring was right around the corner, but I was moving to _Forks_. The coldest place in the continental United States. Or at least it felt that way. "Did you call Uncle Charlie?" I asked.

"Yea" Mom sighed. "He's close to sending Bella to Jacksonville."

"She's gotten that bad?" I asked. I couldn't help but be shocked. Bella was my cousin and my best friend. I loved her unconditionally. But who went catatonic over a _breakup_? As I zipped up my suitcase, something on my nightstand caught my eye,

The books my fathers' grandmother had given to me at his funeral. After all this time I still hadn't opened them, but I always kept them nearby. Biting my lip I went over and shoved them in my carry on bag, AKA my purse.

Once I was sure that I had everything, I joined Mom down at the car. Time for the five and a half hour flight to Port Angeles. Hopefully, I could sleep on the plane.

Uncle Charlie had to work and Bella didn't even know that I was coming. So Mom had given me some money to take a cab. Hopefully, I could find a part-time job and hopefully get a junker of my own. Until then, hopefully, I could steal Bella's truck every now and again.

When the taxi finally pulled up in front of my Uncle's house, I could see that both Uncle Charlie and Bella were still home. Checking the time, I saw that Charlie didn't need to leave for a few more minutes. Grabbing my bags, I paid the driver and watched as he pulled away from the house. I didn't bother knocking as I walked through the door.

"We both know what's really going on here, Bella, and it's not good for you" I heard Charlie's voice coming from the kitchen. Accompanied by the sound of his fist coming down onto the table. "It's been months. No calls, no letters, no contact. You can't keep waiting for him."

"I'm not waiting for anything. I'm not expecting anything."

That was _not_ my cousins' voice. Sure Bella never really had much of a sunny disposition, but this zombie-sounding creature wasn't her.

'Bella..."

"I have to get to school" Bella cut him off. "I'll make plans with Jessica" she continued. "Maybe I won't home for dinner. We'll _go to_ Port Angeles and watch a movie."

"Can I come?" I asked, finally stepping into the room.

"Savanna? What are you doing here?" Bella asked.

"It's been a while since I've been to Forks. Figured it was time for a visit" I lied with a smile. "So what time do you get out of school?" I asked, changing the subject quickly.

"2:30" my cousin answered.

"I'll be ready by 2 and meet you here?" I suggested, Bella just nodded in agreement before walking out the door.

"Where did you learn to lie like that?" Uncle Charlie asked me as soon as we heard the sound of Bella's truck chugging to life.

"Eh, wasn't really a lie" I smiled, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring my self a cup. After loading it hot liquid up with sugar and a dash of milk, I took a large sip. "It was diverting the conversation that took some talent. That's why I'm never grounded."

"Well... okay. You know where everything is, it's good that you're here, Savanna. I was close to sending her home to Renee."

"Nowhere else I'd rather be, Uncle Charlie" I grinned, finishing off my coffee and rinsing out my cup. "Have a good day at work." Charlie then nodded and I was soon left alone in the house. Breathing in the familiar scent of home, I walked back to where I had left my bags and brought them to the first-floor' guest room'. AKA the same room I sleep in every time I come to Forks.

Looking at the time, I decided a short nap would be a good idea. I will never fly so damn early in the morning ever again. Honestly, if I could I would just stay in bed. All the time. My beds my happy place, don't judge.

I woke up to the front door closing. Bella was home from school. With a stretch, I kicked off my comforter and padded sleepily over to my suitcase. After a minute or two of rooting around, I found a tight, royal blue long-sleeved Hollister shirt, and a pair of tight lightly faded blue jeans. Quickly I dressed and tugged on my dark tan Uggs. Mmmm toasty warm. As I was touching up my makeup, I heard a car honk outside. I guess Bella's friend was here.

Grabbing my thick Aeropostale sweatshirt, I went and met my cousin by the door.

"Hey, Bells, have a good day at school?" I asked with a grin as I walked backwards out the door. Bella just rolled her eyes, but I could tell that she wanted to smile. Progress.

"Jess, this is my cousin Savanna" Bella introduced "She's staying with us for a bit. I hope you don't mind her coming with us."

"No it's fine" Jessica smiled. "Are you going to be going to Forks High?" she asked as she pulled away from the house.

"Yea I start next week"

"Thanks for coming out with me" Bella added as we drive down the street.

"Sure. So what brought this on?" Jess asked

"Brought what on?"

"Why did you suddenly decide... to go out?" It almost sounded like she had changed her question halfway through speaking.

"I just needed a change" Bella shrugged. "Do you mind?" she asked, motioning to the radio.

"No, go ahead." After a minute or two, 'We Fly High' my Jim Jones came through the speakers.

"Since when you listen to rap?" I asked my cousin. I had a broad horizon when it came to my music tastes. Sometimes it seemed like Bella _only_ listened to classical.

"I don't know... a while" Bella shrugged.

"You _like_ this?" Jessica asked as 'Ms. New Booty' started as soon as the previous song ended. She didn't believe Bella either.

"Sure."

And it was left at that. Bella and Jess chatted amicably in the front seat. I could tell that Bella was forcing the distraction. Which I guess I could understand. We were catching an early movie, then we were going to dinner. Thankfully I had my wallet with me and I could load up on popcorn and candy.

I hadn't eaten all day.

While Jess went to buy our tickets, Bella and I were on drinks and snacks. My cousins' eyes widening at my order. "How can you eat all that?" she asked. I just shrugged and tossed some popcorn from the jumbo bucket I had ordered.

"I don't know," I told her. "My appetites been crazy for the last few years. I think it might be because I work out a lot" I added, munching on some more popcorn. I really don't work out that much. I jogged every now and again and I had I had recently taken up judo. Though those classes were cut short when I decided to move back to Forks.

Jess talked throughout the previews and my cousin seemed almost thankful that she did. Thankfully I could easily ignore her. Only to curse when the opening scenes of the movie started playing. Bella was adamant about basically cutting herself off from all things romance. Beside me, I could hear Bella and Jessica talk before my cousin stood to 'get more popcorn'.

Turns out it really was a zombie movie, and it was gruesome. Yet highly predictable. Even though she had come back with another small bag of popcorn. I knew that Bella was listening at the door, though. And she confirmed it by saying that there was a long line, this movie theatre wasn't that big.

Thankfully Bella seemed to relax a little bit more, though she still looked like she really didn't even want to be here. That she would have preferred staying home and moping. Bella had only come out tonight to prove to Uncle Charlie that she was okay when she clearly wasn't. Something that she confirmed when she ran out of the theatre. But since the movie was just about over, Jessica and I stayed behind and waiting till the end.

It only took us a minute to find Bella sitting on one of the benches. "Was the movie too scary for you, Bells?" I asked my cousin.

"Yea" Bella agreed, though I clearly hear the lie in her voice. "I guess I'm just a big coward."

"I didn't think you _were_ scared" Jessica frowned. "I was screaming the whole time, even Savanna screamed a bit." I won't deny it, the movie was scary as hell. "But I didn't hear you scream once. So I didn't know why you left."

"Just scared" Bella shrugged.

"Well, I mean, it _is_ possible to be scared and not scream at every little thing, right?" I suggested, hoping to get the attention off of my cousin. "I mean, like, I don't scream every time I see a spider, but those these are scarier than any zombie."

"I guess..." Jess all but huffed. "That was _still_ the scariest movie I've ever seen. I'll bet we're going to have nightmares tonight."

"No doubt about that" Bella agreed. But she wasn't as enthusiastic about it. Uncle Charlie had told me that Bella had nightmares just about every night since her douchebag boyfriend dumped her. That she woke up screaming bloody murder every night, sometimes she wouldn't wake up.

"So, where do you want to eat?" Jessica asked us as we walked out of the theatre.

"I don't care," Bella said blandly. I just rolled my eyes, she didn't even pretend to sound interested.

"I haven't been in Port Angeles in a while, what's close by?" I asked.

"Hmmm," jess though for a moment. "I'm pretty sure there's a McDonalds about a block away."

"Sounds good to me" I nodded as we turned and walked towards the golden arches. I was still hungry and McDonald's was cheap.

We walked for a few minutes, Jessica absolutely _gushing_ about the male lead in the movie. I'll admit the guy was good-looking, in an asshole kinda way. But still, I agreed and giggled along with Bella's friend, silently willing my cousin to engage in the conversation.

But she didn't. We walked a little farther and I could see the brightly lit sign on the corner. But in between us and our destination, was a group of guys standing in front of a bar. The bar- One Eyed Petes- was the only place opened on this stretch of road. Its door was open, allowing for noise and cigarette smoke to billow out. Jessica and I were silent as we walked passed them.

Until Bella _stopped_ walking.

"Bella, what the hell are you doing?" I hissed, grabbing my cousins arm as she tried walking over to men on the other side of the street.

"I think I know them..." Bella muttered, pulling back her arm. I _highly_ doubted that my cousin knew these creeps.

"Bella you can't go into a _bar_!" Jessica hissed, trying to stop my cousin from doing something extremely stupid.

"I wasn't going to go in," Bella said absently, shaking Jessica's hands off as well. "I just want to see something."

"Are you freaking _suicidal_!" "Are you _insane_!" Jess and I whispered with the same amount of harshness.

"No, I'm not," Bella said defensively. I was a little surprised that she was actually showing some emotion. At least it was something. "Go eat," she said after a moment., nudging us in the direction of greasy deliciousness. "I'll catch up."

But neither of us moved. Opting instead to watch my cousin with wide, frightened eyes as Bella paused in the middle of the deserted street. My breath hitched as she kept walking towards the not-so-friendly looking men on the other side of the street.

I could hear their exchange, they weren't that far away. I could tell that Bella was already regretting her decision, that she knew going over there was a bad idea. Soon enough she was coming back over to me and Jessica, leading us back towards the McDonalds.

"Come on let's go eat," she told us, not bothering to look at either of us.

"What were you thinking!" Jessica snapped. "You don't know them... they could have been _psychopaths_!" she hissed the last part.

"Sorry," Bella shrugged. She didn't seem very sorry. "I just thought I knew that one guy."

"You are so odd, Bella Swan. I feel like I don't even know who you are" Jessica sighed.

"Sorry."

The walk to the restaurant was silent. I know I had come here to help Bella through her depression, but really what did I know about it? How could I help her when she didn't seem to _want_ help. I knew for a fact that I wouldn't tell Charlie about what had happened tonight. That wouldn't fix anything but create more problems.

We ate in silence. Bella had tried to initiate conversation with Jessica a few times, but the other girl wasn't as cooperative. She was probably as angry with my cousin as I was. However, I still chatted idly with Bella, even if I wanted to tear into her for being a reckless idiot. Once more Bella questioned my appetite. A large Big Mac meal, and two McDoubles. And a McFlurry for the drive back home. I reminded her that I had to wake up ridiculously early and flew from the other side of the country and the last thing I ate was the fruit roll-up last night before bed.

Bella stopped questioning it after that.

When we finally got back to the car, Jessica cranked the heat and then fiddled with her radio, music blastic through the speakers. It was beyond obvious that Jess didn't want to talk to my cousin. Since the car was void of chatter, I curled up in the back seat and quickly fell asleep.

I vaguely remember Jessica dropping us off at the house. Barely aware of the curt responses Jessica had given to Bella. More than aware of Uncle Charlie demanding where we were. I just groaned tiredly in response before walking to my room, leaving Bella to deal with her father.

After changing into my pajamas, I lay in bed and I couldn't help but wish I hadn't fallen asleep in the car. There was no way I'd get back to sleep any time soon. Sighing, I got out of bed and padded into the living room. Maybe some late night Nickelodeon would help. Full House always entertained.

Uncle Charlie was still up but had gone to bed himself not too long after I sat down with a cup of hot cocoa. Before he went upstairs, Charlie warned me about Bella's nightmares. Most nights she woke up screaming bloody murder. He said that it sounded as if someone was tearing into her.

What he didn't mention, was how absolutely _terrifying_ it was to hear. If it weren't for his warning, I really would have thought that Bella was dying.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

It had been a week since I had come to Forks. School was was boring, but most of the kids here already knew me, so there wasn't much of the 'New Girl' chatter. Which I was thankful for. I had even gotten a job with Bella at the Newtons Olympic Outfitters, mostly it was to keep an eye on my hyper-depressed cousin. But the money was good too

Bella's nightmares hadn't lessened in the week I had been home. It was slightly discouraging, but not unexpected. Uncle Charlie had told me that he had stopped going into her room when she screamed, and after the first couple of times... I did too. Bella wasn't being mauled by a bear or attacked by some monster, she was _heartbroken_.

Ever since that night at the movies, Bella didn't really engage with any of her friends at school. She talked mindlessly with them, sure, but it was usually always initiated by Mike Newton or one of the others. If Bella did bring up a topic at the lunch table, it was almost worded so that the others could control the conversation. I'll admit she had even tricked me into one of these conversations earlier today.

It was a slow afternoon at the Newtons store. Mike was at one of the walls, looking over their hiking boots. I was reorganizing one of the various displays that one of our last customers' children had knocked over.

"Bella, why don't you and Savanna head home?" Mike suggested, his eyes focusing just past my cousin. There were two men on the other side of the store, they had been here for almost an hour arguing the pros and cons of the lightweight packs we had in stock. They were all basically the same, I didn't understand why there needed to be an argument.

"I don't mind staying" Bella shrugged, though I could tell that she wanted nothing more than to not be around the human population.

"Same" I put in. "Besides, it could pick up" I knew that wasn't true.

"I'm telling you" I heard one of the men exclaim. "I've seen grizzlies pretty close up in Yellowstone, but they had nothing on this brute." It was obvious that this man had literally _just_ gotten out of the woods, his dark hair was greasy and matted and his shirt had fresh sweat stains. Gross.

"Not a chance" His companion scoffed. I was blatantly eavesdropping now, but I didn't care. "Black bears don't get that big. The Grizzlies you saw were probably cubs."

"Seriously, you two, once these guys give up I'm closing the place down" Mike murmured just loud enough for my cousin and me to hear.

"If you want us to go..." Bella shrugged, looking at me. I just nodded and stood from the floor, officially giving up on this stupid boot display while Bella gathered up our stuff.

"On all fours, it was taller than you" the first man insisted. "Big as a house and pitch black. I'm going to report it to the ranger here. People ought to be warned- this wasn't up on the mountain mind you- this was only a few miles from the trailhead."

"Let me guess" guy number two scoffed. "You were on your way in? Hadn't eaten real food or slept off the ground in a week, right?"

"Hey, uh, Mike, right?" guy number one questioned. With that Bella and I said our farewells and went out into the rain.

The drops thundered on the thick roof of Bella's truck, but the noise was easily drowned out by the rumbling roar of the truck engine. As we waited for the truck to warm up a bit, Bella told me that she wasn't in the mood to sit at home. I was just surprised that she said anything at all, to be honest.

We drove aimlessly after that. The cab of the truck was filled with warmth and silence. I couldn't help but stare out the wet window was Bella's truck rumbled through the sleepy streets of Forks. All around us was this bright beautiful _green_ and I couldn't help but smile as the trees whizzed by. I've always loved it here.

I was snapped back to reality when the truck finally stopped and Bella all but jumped out into the rain. Looking around I realized that we were parked on Russell Avenue, blocking some families driveway. Just as I went to join my cousin outside, I saw her attention jerk to the house across the street.

Two motorcycles with a large FOR SALE, AS IS sign.

Before I could get out and say anything, Bella was all but marching up to the front door. There was no stopping her now, so instead, I got out of the truck and waiting by the bed. I was soaked in seconds.

Not even five minutes later, Bella and a boy a few years younger than us started walking towards the bikes.

"Savanna, can you give us a hand?" Bella asked as they walked the two motorcycles over to the truck. I just nodded numbly before pulling down the tailgate and trading spots with the younger teen.

"What are you going to do with these?" the boy asked, "They haven't worked in years."

"Yea we can see that," I told him with a grin. At the same time, Bella said: "I kind of guessed that."

"Maybe I'll take then to Dowlings" she suggested with a shrug, causing the boy to give a small snort in laughter.

"Dowling would charge more to fix them than they'd be worth running."

He wasn't wrong about that. I have distinct memories of when mom and I still lived here full time. She would often complain about John Dowling and his bullshit prices. But then I remembered the son of one of my mothers' good friends on the Quileute reservation. The same boy who had fixed up the rusted monster that Bella drove around town.

"You know what? That's okay" Bella shook her head. It seems my cousin had the same idea as me.

"Yea we know someone who builds cars" I grinned. I let myself get excited about this. Not only for Bella but because I loved bikes. I've only ever ridden dirt bikes growing up. Dad had even taken me on the back of his old 1940 Indian Chief "Crazy Horse" bobber. That was one of my favorite memories.

"Oh, that's a relief" the boy smiled, relief flashing in his eyes. He seemed like a good kid. He even waved to us as we pulled away. I had beaten my cousin to the driver's seat and I sped away.

Honestly, I would have thought that Bella would be a little irritated that I was driving. I think she used certain activities, like driving, to keep her mind focused so that she wouldn't break down. But as I glanced at her I was met with a life in my favorite cousins' eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time.

Expertly I navigated the streets, tapping the beat to an unfamiliar song on the steering wheel. Something I tended to while I drove. Bella seemed to understand almost instantly that I knew where I was going, meaning we wouldn't have to go home and call Uncle Charlie for directions. _Therefore_ we wouldn't be seen.

Granted we still had to sneak passed Billy Black. AKA Charlie's best friend, and the man who would totally rat us out.

The Blacks home was just the same as it had been a few summers ago. Looking almost like a homey barn, with its dull red siding. Just beyond that, I knew, was Jakes garage, I had only been there once, but I doubt the Quileute boy got rid of it soo soon.

I wasn't too surprised that Jacob Black met us halfway to the house. I'm sure he could hear the truck coming a mile away.

"Bella!" he exclaimed once my cousin and I left the warmth of the truck. Since he was distracted by Bella, I gave Jacob a once over. For the first time that I've ever seen, his thick black hair was out of its usual ponytail. Jacob was taller too, I could guarantee that I would have to crane my neck to look at him.

"Hey Jacob!" Bella greeted. The weird thing... _it wasn't forced_. She grinned at the tall boy and I could practically _see_ the chemistry between the two. "You grew again!" she said in amazement.

"Six-five" Jacob said proudly. His voice deeper than I remembered, then again the last time I had seen him we were both prepubescent.

"Is it going to stop?" I asked jokingly. "You freaking _huge_ dude."

"You remember my cousin Savanna, right?" Bella asked and Jacob nodded, sending a friendly grin my way.

"Come inside!" he told us. "You two are getting all wet." Quietly, Bella and I followed behind the large Quileute as he took a rubber band from his pocket and tied back his damp hair. Jacob was so tall that he had to duck just so he wouldn't hit his head on the door frame.

"Well, what do you know!" Billy Black grinned when he saw Bella and I enter the small living room. "It's good to see you Bella" he had added, shaking my cousins hand warmly. "Savanna! Why I haven't seen you since the last time you and your mom came to visit us."

"Yea, it's been a while, huh" I smiled sheepishly. "But I feel like we might be coming around more often" I added, sneaking a glance at my cousin and his son.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what brings you girls out here?" Billy asked, worry flickering briefly across his face. "Everything okay with Charlie?"

"Yea, absolutely" Bella nodded in reassurance. "I just wanted to see Jacob, I haven't seen him in forever." I didn't think it was possible for a smile to be as wide as the one on Jacobs' face, his dark eyes beaming with happiness.

"Can you stay for dinner?" Billy asked he sounded just as eager as his son looked.

"No" Bella shook her head. "I've got to feed Charlie, you know."

"I'll call him now" Billy suggested. "he's always invited.

"It's not like you won't see us ever again" I jumped in. I had literally no faith in my cousins' ability to lie. "We'll be around here so much that you'll be _begging_ us to go home" I grinned.

"Okay, maybe next time" Billy chuckled in response.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Jacob asked us.

"Whatever" Bella tried playing it cool. But at least she didn't seem uncomfortable, so I'll put that in the _'win'_ category."What were you doing when we interrupted?" she asked. Jacob hesitated.

"I was just heading out to work on my car, but we can do something else..." but Bella and I didn't even give him a chance to finish.

"No, that's perfect!" we interrupted. "I'd love to see your car."

"Okay. It's out back, in the garage" Jacob said, though I could tell that he wasn't that convinced. Not that I blame him, Bella didn't seem like the time to be into cars. Neither did I, for that matter.

My dad was though.

Just as I remembered, Jacobs garage was concealed by thick trees and shrubbery. Hiding it perfectly from the house. Really the building was just two sheds that Jake and his friends had bolted together. And inside, there was an old, rusty Volkswagen raised up in cinderblocks.

"What kind of Volkswagen is that?" Bella asked. Well, at least she recognized the emblem on the grille.

"It's an old Rabbit," Jacob answered. "1986, a classic."

"How's it going?" I asked. "I mean it looks like it's just about done."

"Almost is," Jacob said cheerfully before he turned back to my cousin and his voice dropped a few octaves. "My dad made good on his promise last spring."

"Ah" was all Bella answered with.

"Hey, Jake?" I spoke up, wanting to divert the conversation as quickly as possible. Bella was doing great today, we didn't need any setbacks. "What do you know about motorcycles?"

"Some" he shrugged. "My friend Embry has a dirt bike. We work on it together sometimes. Why?"

"Well..." Bella started, pursing her lips before looking at me. Unsure if we could really trust Jake to keep his mouth shut. I just shrugged. "I recently acquired a couple of bikes, and they're not int he greatest condition. I was wondering if you could get them running?"

"Cool," Jacob beamed at the challenge. "I'll give it a try."

"The things is" I continued for Bella. "Uncle Charlie kinda... _hates_ motorcycles. If he knew about this, that vein in his forehead would probably bust. So you kinda... can't tell your dad."

"Sure, sure" Jacob smiled. "I understand."

"I'll pay you" Bella added in as if she needed to convince Jacob further. But the teen just rolled his eyes.

"No," he told my cousin. "I want to help, you can't pay me."

"Well..." Bella bit her lip "how about a trade then?" she suggested. "Savanna and I really only need the one bike and lessons too..."

"I don't" I interrupted. "I used to have a dirt bike when I was a kid and my dad used to take me out on his old Indian." Bella just shook her head, and I swear I saw a ghost of a smile.

"So how about this?" Bella proposed. "I'll give you the other bike, and then you can teach me how to ride it."

"Sweeetttt!"

"What a sec... are you legal yet?" Bella asked. "When's your birthday?"

"You missed it" Jacob teased with narrow eyes. "I'm sixteen."

"Not that your age ever stopped you before" Bella muttered, causing me to giggle. "Sorry about your birthday."

"Don't worry about it, I missed yours." Jacob shrugged. "What are you, forty?" I couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, while Bella stiffened just a little bit beside me.

"Close" she sniffed.

"I forgot that the two of you were _both_ older than me" I spoke, but it I was all but ignored.

"We'll have a joint party to make up for it." Did this boy ever stop grinning?

"Sounds like a date."

Jacobs' eyes sparkled at the word 'date'. Discreetly I elbowed my cousin, I knew that she didn't want Jacob to get the wrong idea. I knew that she wasn't near ready for anything like that quite yet.

"Maybe..." I added, looking quickly at Bella before continuing. "Maybe when the bikes are finished, they could be like... like presents to yourselves?" I suggested.

"That sounds good to me" Jacob shrugged. "When will you bring them down?" he asked, causing Bella to bite her lip once more. This time in embarrassment.

"They're in my truck now" she admitted.

"We literally picked them up and came here."

"Will Billy see if we bring them around?" Bella asked.

"We'll be sneaky" Jacob chuckled, sending a wink her way.

Casually the three of us walked out of the garage and strolled toward the truck. Which thankfully I had the forethought to park closer to the garage, the bed hidden by a large tree. Without speaking, I went over to the truck's cab, acting like I was looking for something. When in reality I was keeping a lookout while Jacob unloaded the bikes with ease. Those things seemed a lot heavier when Bella and I had loaded them into the back.

Once I saw that Jake had the bikes hidden in the trees, I grabbed my bag and walked over to them. Making sure we weren't being watched as I went.

"This one here will actually be worth something when I'm done, it's an old Harley Sprint," Jacob said as he appraised the bike.

"That one's yours then," Bella said with no hesitation.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," the two of us said in unison.

"These are going to take some cash though" Jacob frowned at the blackened metal of the Harley. "We'll have to save up for parts first."

" _We_ nothing" Bella disagreed.

"She's right. If you're doing the labor, Bella and I can pay for the parts" I added.

"I don't know..." Jacob muttered, clearly not okay with the idea.

"We've both got some money saved. College fund, you know."

I didn't have a college fund, I had an 'I don't feel like walking everywhere' fund. But if all went according to plan, I was going to take the red motorcycle off of Bellas' hands. Once they were done, and my cousin was satisfied in her thrill-seeking, I was hoping I could talk my mom into letting me keep the two-wheeled vehicle.

I'm sure she would say yes. Mom didn't have the same hatred for motorcycles as her ex-brother-in-law.

Thankfully, we didn't need to do anything crazy to conceal the bikes in Jakes garage. Billy never came out here, due to his wheelchair not being able to maneuver the uneven ground. So after Jacob finished bringing the bikes inside the safety of his workplace, he opened up the doors to his Rabbit so that Bella and I didn't have to sit on the ground while he tinkered.

While Jacob started pulling my and Bella's future bike to pieces I watched intently. Only adding into the conversation when asked.

"Jake? Are you out here?!" I heard a shouting voice call out, causing my back to straighten at the sound. Quickly I relaxed though, the voice was obviously not Billy's.

"Yeah!" Jacob shouted back. A moment later, two tall Quileute boys rounded the corner into the garage. One was thin and maybe an inch or two taller than Jake with shoulder-length black hair while the other was short and burly. Unlike most Quileute boys, the short boy had his hair buzzed off. I vaguely recognized them as Quil Ateara and Embry Call. "Quil, Embry, this is my friend Bella" Jake introduced.

"Charlie's kid, right?" Quil asked, holding his hand out towards my cousin.

"That's right" Bella confirmed. "And this is my cousin, Savanna."

"Hey" I waved, "Long time to see," I told them. We weren't really friends or anything, but just like with Jake, I had hung out with the boys every now and again whenever my mom would bring me to the reservation.

"So what are you guys doing?" Quil asked after he and Embry introduced themselves to Bella.

"Bella, Sav and I are gonna fix up these bikes" Jake explained, motioning to his newest project. That seemed to be the magic word as both boys scurried to check out the red machine. I tried to pay attention as both boys drilled Jacob with questions that I barely understood. Must have been in the Y chromosome that I clearly lacked. Hearing a sigh, I looked over at Bella sliding out of the passenger side of the Rabbit. Checking the time on my for-emergencies-only prepaid cell phone, I saw that it was getting close to dinner time. We needed to go before Charlie showed up here and saw what we were doing.

"We're boring you guys, aren't we?" Jake looked at us with apologetic eyes.

"No" Bella shook her head. I smiled when I saw that she wasn't lying, Bella really was _enjoying_ herself here. "We just have to get back, I have to cook dinner for Charlie." I couldn't help the flinch that came when Bella called her father by his given name.

"Oh...well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get started rebuilding them. When do you wanna work on them again?" Jake asked, his dark eyes dancing between my cousin and me.

"Can we come back tomorrow?" Bella asked instantly, causing Quil to nudge Embry's arm and they exchanged twin grins. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, _boys_.

"That would be great!" Jacob smiled in delight.

"If you make a list, we can start shopping for parts," I told him.

"I'm still not sure I should let you two pay for everything"Jacobs' face fell a bit, still uneasy about the two of us buying the sure-to-be-expensive parts.

"No way, man," I told him with a shake of my head. "Bells and I are bankrolling this party. You just have to supply the labor and expertise."

"That doesn't seem right" Jake shook his head.

"Jake, if we took these to a mechanic, how much would he charge us?" Bella pointed out, causing Jacob to smile.

"Okay, you're getting a deal" he chuckled.

"Not to mention riding lessons" Bella added. Quil grinned widely and whispered something to Embry. Knowing those boys, it was something grotesquely juvenile.

After that, Bella and I left. We had heard Jacob threaten his friends, the words causing my cousin to _laugh_. Like actually laugh! I was in shock, this was a sound I hadn't heard once since I had been home.

Though we were silent for the entire ride home, I was just about ready to burst with pride for my cousin. I mean sure, it was just one afternoon. But it was one afternoon that was filled with nothing but laughter and smiles. No forced conversation that Bella ignored, just my cousin truly conversing with both me and her friend. Today is what I called progress.

I just hoped it would last.

We had beat Charlie home. And while I went to my room to change out of my damp clothes and into my fuzzy pajama pants and a tank top, Bella set to work on dinner. Tying my dark brown curls up into a messy bun, I went to the kitchen and started on the mashed potatoes.

Just as I finished mashing the spuds, I heard the front door open.

"Hey dad" "Hiya Uncle Charlie." Bella and I said at the same time. I could see the shock that flickered across my uncles face when he saw the grin on his daughters. With raised eyebrows, he glanced at me and I nodded discreetly as I scooped the mashed potatoes I had made into the serving dish.

"Hey, girls, how was your day?" he asked, his voice uncertain.

"Good. We went down and saw Jacob" I told him.

"That's good" Uncle Charlie nodded. "Did you girls have fun?"

"Yea, we did" Bella was still grinning.

"Well, that's good," he said. He was still a bit cautious, hoping that he wouldn't say the wrong thing and make his daughter close up again. "What did you three do?"

"Hung out in his garage and watched him work. Did you know he's rebuilding a Volkswagen?" Bella asked, looking at her face, I could tell that she was being cautious too. Also for good reason, we didn't want to give away what we were _really_ doing in that garage.

"Yea I think Billy mentioned that" Charlie nodded as he bit into his chicken. Dinner was an almost silent affair after that. Though Charlie still studied Bellas face as he ate.

After dinner, Bella and I did our homework in the living room, with the hockey game going in the background. It was only when Charlie noted the late hour that the three of us retired to our rooms for the night. Bella taking the stairs slowly and I could tell that the fear of dreaming was inching its way back into her. Sighing, I went to my own room. All I could do was hope that I could soothe my cousin if she had yet another nightmare.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

*~*~* _This had to have been a dream, it just_ _ **had**_ _to be. There was no way that this was possible, teenage boys didn't just... they didn't just_ _ **explode**_ _. They didn't explode and leave giant wolves in their place. It just wasn't possible._

 _But the heat radiating off of him, the way the wind tousled his russet fur. Even the fear in his chocolate eyes as he was joined by four other impossibly large wolves. It all felt so_ _ **real**_ _. It was as if I was living in one of my grandmothers old Navajo stories. But there were no animal skins, no evil witches trying to steal souls. Just a teenage boy turning into a wolf._

 _There were whispers on the wind. So many voices, but I couldn't make out their words. They were so light that honestly, I thought I was hearing things. But... this was a dream, so not much seemed to make sense._

 _And then my grandmother, Adoette RedFox, was there. Standing in between the wolves in her ceremonial garb. She looked the same as she had at my fathers funeral. Grandma Addie was mouthing something but her voice never reached me, the voices on the wind just grew louder._

 _Then, deafening silence._

 _"_ **Wake up Savanna** _ **"**_ _my grandmother finally spoke, her voice rippling with authority_.

* * *

I came too with a shock. Gasping for air as my eyes snapped open. It was morning and I could smell the eggs and bacon cooking in the kitchen. Cursing silently to myself, I shook off my nightmare and jumped out of bed. Bella and I were going back to Jacobs today to work on the bikes some more.

It was after I finished pulling on my black and pink skate-boarding shoes that I realized that the night had been peaceful. Sure _I_ had a nightmare, but more importantly, _Bella didn't_. Grinning to myself, I grabbed my thick black hoodie and went out into the kitchen to join my family for breakfast. Glancing at my cousin, I saw that she seemed fine. Or at least better than she had been in the past few months.

From where he sat at the table, I saw that my uncle was trying to carefully hide the scrutinizing looks he was sending his daughter. Only to look back down at his eggs until Bella's back was turned once more. Stifling a snicker I walked over to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup while Bella scooped some scrambled eggs onto a plate for me.

"Thanks, Bells" I smiled, there was a flicker of a smile in return as the three of us sat down and enjoyed breakfast.

"So what are you girls up to today?" Uncle Charlie asked. He was staring at a loose thread on his sleeve as if trying to be nonchalant.

"We're going to go hang out with Jacob again" Bella answered for the both of us.

"Oh" was all Charlie said in response.

"Do you mind?" Bella asked, her voice feigning worry. I don't think Charlie caught it though. "We could stay..."

"No, no!" Charlie looked up quickly, panic flashing in his brown eyes. "You girls go ahead. Harry was going to come up and watch the game with me anyway."

"Maybe Harry could bring Billy Black up too" I suggested. The fewer people around the Black home, the better.

A part of me felt like the game was an excuse to get Bella out of the house. But Charlie seemed genuinely excited as he all but rushed over to the phone. As he did, I finished up my breakfast, chugged the rest of my coffee and put on my sweatshirt. My wallet tucked safely in the pocket.

The rain was coming down in buckets, and as much as I wanted to stand and let the water wash away the weirdness of my nightmare, I couldn't. Bella was anxious to get to the reservation. Which was obvious by her impatient finger-tapping as we inched down the road, the asphalt was slick with water and coming down in sheets. I could barely see the car ahead of us.

But soon enough we made it to Jacobs house. And before my cousin even killed the engine, Jake was running out with a huge black umbrella. As he held it over Bella's head, my cousin motioned for me to join her. But I just shook my head and turned my face to the skies. I let Bella and Jacob have their moment, I was mostly here for moral support. And the bikes.

I was only outside in the rain for less than a minute, but it felt like longer. The next thing I knew, there was another truck making its way down the Blacks driveway. Opening my eyes and wiping the rain from my face, I saw that it was Harry Clearwater coming to pick up Billy. Smiling I waved to the older man before going inside.

"So where to, Mr. Goodwrench?" I heard Bella asked as I was finally enveloped in the warmth of Jacobs home. It looked just like it did when I was a kid and my mom would drag me over here.

"We'll start at the dump first, see if we can get lucky," Jacob said, sending me a small wave before pulling out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "This could get a little expensive" he warned. "Those bikes are going to need a lot of help before they'll run again." When his warning didn't seem to phase us, he continued. "I'm talking about maybe more than a hundred dollars here."

"We're covered" Bella and I said in unison, rolling our eyes at his worries. While Bella fanned herself with her rarely used checkbook, I held my fairly thick wallet up with two fingers.

"Hey Jake, can I borrow a sweatshirt?" I asked. "Mine kinda got... _soaked_ " I added, motioning to my sopping wet hoodie.

"Yea" Jacob chuckled before running to his room quickly, returning a moment later with a black sherpa-lined zip-up that was covered with grease stains. Man, this thing was _warm_. I really don't think Jake will be getting this back.

After spending just about all morning roaming local junkyards and joking around with Jacob and Bella, I had to say that the day had been good. Bella seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself. Not one single forced smile or laugh, she didn't even _flinch_ when Jake noticed the giant hole in her dash.

"Did the stereo break?" he wondered.

"Yea" I could easily pick up on Bella's lie. Jacob was still learning my cousins tells, so he didn't catch the fib.

"Who took it out? There's a lot of damage..." Jacob trailed off, poking around in the cavity where Bellas stereo had once been.

"I did" she admitted. I bit my lip, waiting for her to clam up once more. But it didn't happen.

"Maybe you shouldn't touch the motorcycles" Jake laughed.

"I agree" I added, nudging my cousin playfully.

We had actually gotten pretty lucky at the dump. At least that's what Jacob said. Neither Bella or I could make heads or tails of the twisted metal pieces he had found. I applauded his knowledge.

After we left the dump, the three of us piled in the truck once more and made the two-hour drive down to Checker Auto Parts in Hoquiam. Time passed quickly as Jacob and I basically took over the conversation. Sure Bella asked us both questions here and there and she wasn't even pretending to want to hear the answers. Bella _actually wanted to know_! It took all I had in me to not be excited at my cousins' character turn.

"Savanna and I are doing all the talking" Jacob complained after he finished telling us a story about Quil and how he had asked out a senior in the school. A senior who had a steady boyfriend. "Why don't you take a turn? What's going on in Forks? It _has_ to be more exciting than La Push."

"Wrong" Bella sighed, and I agreed. "There's really nothing. Your friends are a lot more interesting than mine. I like your friends. Quils funny."

"I think Quil likes you, too" Jacob frowned. It was obvious that Jake liked Bella, and I was already planning their wedding in my head. I called dibs on being their first-born childs godmother.

"He's a little young for me" Bella laughed.

"Just by, like, a year and a few months," I told her as Jacobs frown deepened. "That's not too much younger."

"Sure, but considering the difference in maturity between guys and girls, don't you have to count that in dog years?" Bella asked, obviously she had caught on the fact that we weren't _really_ talking about her and Quils age difference. "That's, what, twelve years older?"

"Okay," Jacob laughed, rolling his eyes. "But if you're going to be picky like that, you have to average in size, too. You're so small, I'll have to knock ten years off your total."

"Five foot four is perfectly average" Bella sniffed. "It's not my fault your a freak."

"At least _you_ don't get called Munchkin and get asked if you need a booster seat" I grumbled. I was _barely_ five foot one.

We kept up the playful banter all the way till Hoquiam. Still arguing over the correct formula to determine age, Bella had lost two years because she didn't know how to change a tire, where I had gained two. She gained one back, however, because she did the bookkeeping in the Swan household. I had lost one, and a half, because I sucked at managing money.

Once we made it to Checkers, however, Jacob had to concentrate again. Thankfully we were able to find everything on his list, and he felt confident that he could make a lot of progress with our haul. I hoped he was right.

The second we were all warm in the dry cab of the truck, the three of us continued our previous debate. By the time we made it back to La Push, Bella twenty-three, Jake was thirty and I was twenty-one. I don't know how I felt about being the shortest _and_ the youngest out of the three of us, and Jake was _definitely_ weighing skills in his favor.

Billy wasn't home yet when we pulled up to the house. Thankfully, that meant that we didn't need to sneak our spoils passed the window. And as soon as we had unloaded everything onto the plastic floor next to Jacob's toolbox, he went to work. Still talking and laughing as he combed expertly through the metal pile in front of him.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jacob work, and as much as I wanted to learn... I just couldn't concentrate. The conversations we'd had to and from Hoquiam had distracted me. But now I couldn't help but think about the dream I'd had last night. I hadn't dreamt like that since my dad died. At the time, I had just waved it off as grief. I had never told anyone about the dreams and, eventually, they went away. Until last night, that is.

I was snapped out of my thoughts, suddenly, when I heard Uncle Charlie calling for me and Bella. Damn, he sounded close.

"Coming!" Bella and I yelled toward the house.

"Let's go" Jacob grinned before snapping the light off. I had to blink a few times for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Barely aware of Jacob pulling Bella away from my side, leaving me to stumble by my self. But thankfully, I didn't trip over myself constantly like they did, so I think I made out better in the end. I was mostly just happy that Bella was not only laughing but that she didn't break anything in her clumsiness.

"Hey, Dad" Bella and Jake said at the same time.

"Hey Uncle Charlie, Billy" I smiled, waving from behind my friends.

"Billy invited us for dinner," Charlie said in an absentminded tone, barely glancing down at Jacob and Bella's intertwined hands with slightly wide eyes.

"My super secret recipe for spaghetti. Handed down for generations" Billy said gravely.

Jacob and I both snorted. "I don't think Ragu's actually been around that long" Jacob told his father.

The inside of the house was crowded. Harry Clearwater had brought his family over as well. Just like Harry, I vaguely remembered Sue Clearwater though she seemed to remember me as she wrapped me in a tight hug and welcomed me home. Then there was Seth and Leah. Leah was a senior like Bella, though she was a year older. I remembered playing with her when I was a kid. She spent most of her time on the phone with her boyfriend, whom she told me _all about_ when she finally hung up. It was good catching up with her again, she and I were always close when we were younger and I was glad that it was still true now. Seth was fourteen and the youngest out of all of us and hung onto every word that Jacob said. It was adorable, really, how he seriously idolized Jake.

Since there were so many of us, we couldn't all fit at the kitchen table. So Charlie and Harry brought chairs out into the yard and we balanced our plates on our laps. I didn't sit in a chair though, instead, I sat on the lush grass, letting the leftover raindrops soak into my pants as I shoveled food in my mouth. I hadn't eaten all day and I was _starving_.

The men talked sports and fishing, laughing when Sue teased her husband about his cholesterol and attempted to get him to eat some rabbit food. And while Jake, Seth and Bella talked and laughed, I caught up with Leah. I told her all about my home in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the small group of sort-of-friends I'd had there.

When the rain finally interrupted our get-together, we decided to all call it a night and head home. Since Harry had given Charlie a ride down, the three of us had to squeeze into the cab of Bella's truck. As we made our way home, Charlie asked about our day and we mostly told him the truth. We'd gone with Jacob to look for parts and watched him work in the garage. Thankfully, Charlie wasn't the type to ask just _what_ we were working on.

"You think you girls'll visit again soon?" Charlie asked, attempting to be casual.

"Tomorrow after school" Bella answered. "We'll bring homework, though, don't worry."

Once we were home, I said my 'goodnights' to Bella and Charlie before heading to my room. It had been a long day and I really just wanted to curl up in my small bed and sleep. But after last night... I was scared to dream.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

As much as I didn't want it to, the nightmare still hit. Only instead of dreaming of boys exploding into large masses of fur, I dreamt of something entirely different. Though still just as strange.

I was in the woods with Bella beside me. It was dark and cold and I was just in my simple boy shorts and a tank top. In front of us was a tall, copper-skinned man I didn't recognize. His dark eyes were cold and unfriendly, and the look didn't look natural for him. No words were spoken, the only noise coming from the whispers on the wind. The chilling chanting was just low enough that I couldn't make out what was being said. I noticed the mans form shivering, and I could tell that it wasn't from the cold. He was shaking just like the boy in my last dream.

When I had woken up, I still had another thirty minutes until I had to get up and get ready for school. Sitting up in bed, I ran a hand over my face before glancing quickly at my bedside table. To where the old books my Grandma Alouette had given me a few years ago. My hand twitched to pick the first one up, and the next thing I knew, the first journal was sitting in my lap.

As I flipped to the first page, I realized one of the reasons why I never really opened the journals in the first place. I couldn't read Navajo, I could barely speak it. In fact, I could probably speak more Quileute than my native Navajo. But then something strange happened, it was as if all of the letters on the old, yellowed page rearranged themselves to form English words. That has never happened before.

So I spent the next half hour flipping through the pages of my great-great-great grandfathers' journal. I was expecting some interesting talk of how life was when the white man first started taking over. But what I got was something far more strange. Grandfather Tahoma talked about monsters hidden in the shadows, of pale men with cold skin and blood red eyes. He talked about how his tribesmen fought these men, who were worse than any skinwalker. My ancestor had written about so many impossible things, but there was one that really jumped out at me. Apparently, there was some time of... _phenomena_ that happened in our family. For lack of a better term, we had _magic_. When the parent died, not only did their child feel every bit of that death, but they gained the powers of their parents. And usually, this power started with what my grandfather called dreamwalking; the ability to travel within another's dreams in order to understand and heal. There was honestly more to it than that, and honestly, it made my head hurt a little bit. Not to mention that it sort of freaked me out a little bit.

Plus if I didn't get a move on, I would miss my ride to school. Quickly I changed and made my way into the kitchen for breakfast. It was slightly tense at the table, Uncle Charlie stared at Bella all throughout the meal. It had only been a few days since she had started acting somewhat normal again, so naturally, we would still worry. I knew that my cousin had another nightmare last night, but it didn't seem as bad as it had been when I first came back to Forks. For instance, she didn't wake up screaming bloody murder. But two good days hardly meant that she was cured.

School was different, though. Nobody watched Bella there, nobody but me, that is. But did I really count? I honestly could say that I didn't expect Zombie Bella to make an appearance anytime soon. Though I can't say how her teachers treated her, considering I was in a grade lower and therefore didn't have any classes with my upper-classman cousin.

The only hour I had with her was lunch and no one paid my cousin any mind when the two of us sat down at our usual table. These were Bella's friends, so I sat and ate my lunch silently. My fingers itching to reach into my bag and pull out the old leather bound journal once again. I don't even know why I had brought it with me to school, it's not like I could read it out in the open. Though the other kids in this school would have absolutely no clue as to what was written on the old parchment, I would still get unwelcomed questions.

"Where's Ben today?" a girl with short blonde, corn-silk hair asked. I don't know what had prompted this girl to get that particular haircut, but it honestly looked terrible.

"Ben's got the stomach flu" the dark haired girl, Angela said quietly, her voice calm as could be. "Hopefully it's just some twenty-four-hour thing. He was really sick last night."

"What did you do this weekend?" Jessica asked, I could tell that she really didn't care about the answer, she was just making conversation. Bella shifted in her seat beside me, and I could tell that she was nervous. Maybe Jessica would say something about my cousins' weird behavior in Port Angeles.

"We were going to have a picnic this Saturday, actually, but..." Angela trailed. "We changed our minds." There was a certain waver in her voice that piqued my interest. I could tell that Jess hadn't been as interested as she immediately tried launching into a story of her own. her attempt was short-lived, however, when it became glaringly obvious that Bella and I had not been the only ones paying attention to the weirdness in Angela's voice.

"What happened?" asked the blonde with the terrible haircut.

Angela seemed to hesitate before answering. She seemed like the reserved type to me. "Well... we drove up north, almost to the hot springs- there's a good spot just about a mile up the trail. But, when we were halfway there...w-we saw something." Her voice was so quiet that I barely heard her.

It was then that my curiosity got the better of me. "Saw something? What?" I finally spoke up. Even Jess was listening now.

"I don't know," Angela said. "We _think_ it was a bear. It was black, anyway, but it seemed... too big."

At this, the blonde beside her snorted. "Oh, not you too!" Her eyes turned mocking and I decided then that her personality was just as bad as her hair. "Tyler tried to sell me that one last week."

"You're not going to see any bears that close to the resort," Jess shook her head, obviously siding with the bitchy blonde.

I had to admit, giant mutant bears was a little hard to believe.

"Really" Angela protested, her voice low as her gaze stayed focused on the table in front of her. "We did see it."

"I believe you" I shrugged, sipping on my soda. The blonde just snickered.

"No, she's right" my cousin threw in impatiently. "We had a hiker in just Saturday who saw the bear too, Angela."

"Yea I remember him" I nodded. "He said it was huge and black, that it was just outside of town. Didn't he, Mike?" I asked as every pair of eyes turned to look at Bella in shock.

"Mike?" Bella muttered, her eyes showing utter mortification. "Remember the guy with the bear story?"

"S-sure," Mike stammered a few seconds later, just as shocked as the rest of the table that Bella had spoken. Even though we all worked together, Bella had barely talked to him, mostly it was me or she would once again make a statement that would allow for either me or Mike to dominate the conversation. "Yea" Mike recovered "there was a guy who said he saw a huge black bear right at the trailhead-bigger than a grizzly," he confirmed.

The blonde... Lacey? Laurie? I don't know, her name started with an L though, she had simply huffed at Mike's confirmation. She was a bitch and I had decided that I didn't like her, I don't know how Bella had put up with her.

"So what did you do this weekend, Bella?" Mike asked. He was a little wary, which was understandable considering the circumstances. Everyone but Lulu looked back at my cousin, waiting for her response.

"Friday night, Jessica, Savannah and I went to a movie in Port Angeles. And then Sav and I spent Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday down at La Push."

The eyes around the table flickered between the three of us. Jessica looked a little irritated and I could tell that it was mostly because she had wanted to be the one to tell the story. "What movie did you see?" Mike ended up asking, a smile starting to form on his face.

" _Dead End_ \- the one with the zombies" Bella grinned in encouragement. Things were starting to look up for her and I couldn't help a smile of my own.

Mike was eager to continue the conversation as he said "I heard that was scary. Did you guys think so?" he asked us.

"Bella had to leave at the end, she was so freaked."

I had a feeling that Jessica had a crush on Mike and was slightly jealous of my cousin, who was starting to get a lot of the jocks attention.

"Dude, it was scary as hell" I added. "Predictable, but the jump scares were epic."

After school, as her truck chugged down the road, Bella said that she wanted to make a quick stop before we went to Jake's. Unwillingly I agreed. I had a feeling where she wanted to go, and I had blatantly told her that it was a bad idea. Seeing the empty house where her d-bag ex had lived was a _very_ bad idea. We were just getting Bella back, we didn't want the zombie to resurface. At least she talked to me though, telling me a bald-faced lie about what had happened the last time she had been there. Naturally, I didn't know what had really happened, but I knew that it had nothing to do with Douchebags brother getting a bit squeamish over a papercut. If it was that simple, the dick and his family wouldn't have skipped town and left my accident-prone cousin in the Washington woods.

But on the other hand, I knew that Bella needed this in order to truly move on. As morbid as it sounded.

The house was beautiful, in an epically creepy kind of way. Maybe if someone actually lived here it wouldn't be as sketchy. Bella sat there, staring blankly at the barren house. Then, in a snap, she jumped out into the sea of thick underbrush and slowly approached the vacant homestead. I had moved to follow, but as soon as Bella heard the car door, she turned towards me and shook her head. This was something she needed to do by herself.

It was only a minute or two later that my cousin came barreling back to the truck and jumped back inside of the warm cab. She didn't speak, but I could tell that she was a second away from having a full on anxiety attack. Quietly we drove down the familiar streets towards the Rez. And towards Jacob. It was becoming clear to me, as Bella sat shaking in the driver's seat, that maybe my cousin had a problem. Yes, spending time with Jake was helping her in leaps and bounds. But in situations like this? Maybe she was more dependant on Jacob than was healthy.

"Hey, Bella!" Jacob called as soon as he saw the truck pull up to his house. "Hi, Savannah."

"Hey, Jacob," we said in unison, while I waved at Billy who had been watching us through the window.

"Let's get to work," Jake said eagerly,though his voice was almost a whisper. Obviously not wanting to be overheard by his father.

Silently I trailed behind Bella and Jacob as they chatted. From what I could tell, it was mostly Bella joking about overstaying her welcome. She obviously didn't see the way that Jacob looked at her.

When we walked into the garage, my eyes widened in shock. There, sitting on the tarp that had just been covered in loose parts the other day, was the red motorcycle. Jake had finished it.

"Holy cow, Jake, you're amazing" I gaped when I saw the two-wheeled beauty.

"I get obsessive when I have a project" he chuckled with a small shrug. "If I had any brains I'd drag it out a little bit."

Bella looked utterly confused. "Why?"

Jacob paused for a moment, as if trying to find the best way to word his next sentence. "Bella, if I told you guys that I couldn't fix these bikes, what would you say?"

"Dude, you're rebuilding a Rabbit from the ground up. I wanna be here for that shit" I told him with a quickness, while Bella seemed to stay silent. I couldn't help but ask myself if Bella would have stuck around if Jake couldn't fix the bikes. A part of me feels like she wouldn't. But there's always room for suprises.

"I would say..." my cousin paused. "That's too bad, but I'll bet we could figure out something else to do." Her expression changed just then in to what I believe was a soft smile. "If we got realy desperate, we cold even do _homework_ " she joked.

Bellas' response seemed to appease Jacob as he sent her a beaming smile and his tense shoulders relaxed marginally. "So do you think the two of you will still come over when I'm done then?" he asked, sitting down next to the bike and picking up a wrench.

"Is that what you meant?"

"I already said yes, loser" I joked, plopping down on the ground next to him. Eyes focused on the work his large hands were doing on the bike.

"I guess we _are_ taking advantage of your very underpriced mechanical skills. But as long as you let m- _us_ come over, we'll be here" Bella smiled once again.

"Hoping to see Quil again" teased Jake, causing my cousin and I too chuckle lowly.

"You caught me."

"You really like spending time with me?" he asked. I was left ignored, but that was okay. These two were just so adorably oblivous that I was more than happy to sit in the background and forcus on the mototrcycle. But even so, when the two of them made plans for Bella's next day off, I couldn't help but frown a little. Bella's next day off was Wednesday, and I had to work. Sure hanging out with Jake was mostly for Bella's mental health, but it was still no fun being the odd man out.

* * *

Pizza for dinner was a much welcome surpise. Bella and I had gotten home much later than we had wanted to and Uncle Charlie had ordered us two large pizza's rather than wait for my cousin to cook dinner like hse usually did. For some reason, Bella had even wanted to apologize for not making an actual meal, but Charlie wouldn't let her.

"I don't mind" my uncle assured his daughter. "You derserve a break from all the cooking anyway."

"Plus" I added with a mouthful of pepperoni and black olive "Pizza's my favorite food like, ever."

The rest of dinner was a quiet affair. I had personally polished off an entire large pepperoni and black olive pizza and if my uncle and cousin were suprised by my appetite, then they didn't show it. Afterwards, while Bella went up to her room, I set up shop at the kitchen table and started on the homework I had neglected at Jacobs. Learning about engines was a lot more fun than learning about calc.

Not too long later, after mind numbing work, I finally called it quits and went to my small and cozy bedroom. The rest could be done in homeroom tomorrow. So after changing into my favorite pajamas and curling up under my thick comforter, I one of the newer journals. Curiousity getting the better of me.

I was unsuprised to see new ink gracing the old pages. The words written here spoke of how the dreams started. How this man had lived the death of his father, and how he had dreamed of a woman who lived by the sea. Apparently, the man who had inherited his fathers journals had what was known as 'precognition', in other words, he could see bits and peices of the future through his dreams.

For the next hour I read, only until the tears started did I put the books back onto my nightstand and curled up on my side.

Reading about my fathers life as a dreamwalker was an almost heartbreaking experience.


End file.
